Hi,
I'm looking for a small homely-type of hostel in Wellington for a 2-3 month stay. Any recommendations? So far, I'm thinking of Rowena's or World Wide Backpackers, however I've read a lot of mixed reviews on them on hostelworld and hostelz.com
any help would be appreciated!
thanks,
michelle
Webb Hostel were listed with www.bbh.co.nz and are friendly, small, clean and comfy.
Recommend you get the bbh guide as a good reference to others.
Another place to consider is Beethoven house: the owner has a reputation of being a bit of a character, the kind of person you're either going to like or not but never be neutral about. It is in Mt Vic, same street as Rowena's. See the comments at hostelz. Whenever I don't need to stay in Wellington itself, I stay out at Plimmerton, in the Moana Lodge. It is an easy train ride into town and right on the beach: fantastic.
I'm surprised noone has mentioned Cambridge Hotel? (http://www.cambridgehotel.co.nz) - it has a small backpacker section and is quite well set up. The communal bathroom and showers area is marble and you get consistent hot water with good pressure (a must if you have to get up early and work). Also because it's small - its much easier to hang out with other people and not so clique based. I would steer clear of Base and YHA - both of which I've stayed in the past and are a bit on the crap side. (YHA - shower was knackered; Base - hole in the wall from somone kicking it in). Also I've heard good reports from the Wellywood backpackers (http://wellywoodbackpackers) - there's a lot more space here and long termers too.
oooh, actually Cambridge Hotel would be a good bet. The pub below used to be an absolute dive but was bought a couple of years ago and was updated while still keeping the general casual atmosphere.
The Cambridge Hotel is actually on a really busy street but apparently the rooms themselves are actually quite quiet. Again, i have booked people into it for things in the past and heard very positive reviews of it.
I've stayed in the Cambridge, and yes, it is a good place, but with the OP's original selections and the notion of somewhere being "homely", I didn't know if it would quite fit in, aesthetically speaking. It is still very evidently a hotel with a backpacker conversion.
As for the YHA, I am surprised at the shower problem: this is a consistently highly-rated place, from the Qualmark people and on most hostel rating websites. For a big hostel, I find it very good to stay in.
I stayed in World Wide Backpackers for a couple of weeks a few years back. It was great - really friendly staff, lots of long termers (several of whom ended up working there for a stint), nice comfortable atmosphere around christmas time. One of my favourite backpackers infact, but that was down to the people I met to a large extent. I also stayed in Beethoven House and after a night moved on as the eccentricities of the owner, while amusing, would have driven me mad before long (it was a bit like boarding school!!)